OMEN
07-25-2007, 08:29 AM
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Phil Spector's murder trial has been running for three months
Music producer Phil Spector was too far away from Lana Clarkson to have shot her in the mouth, his trial has heard.
Forensic expert Stuart James told the murder trial that blood found on Mr Spector's jacket could have travelled six feet from where the actress died.
The defence team says Mr Spector could not have fired the fatal shot into Ms Clarkson's mouth from that distance.
But during cross-examination, Mr James conceded that Mr Spector could have been just two feet from the actress.
Ms Clarkson was found dead at Mr Spector's Hollywood mansion in February 2003. He denies murder, claiming she shot herself.
Her body was slumped in a chair in the foyer of the house. Police found the gun on the floor at her feet.
Mr James analysed bloodstains on the arm of the chair as well as on her black slip dress and Mr Spector's white coat.
But the scientist - who lectures around the world and has written a book on bloodstain pattern analysis - said he had never specifically studied gunshot wounds in the mouth.
"You see so few of them," he told the jury. "Intra-oral gunshot wounds are not that prevalent."
Mr Spector, who pioneered the "Wall of Sound" recording technique in the 1960s, faces between 15 years and life in prison if convicted.
BBC
Phil Spector's murder trial has been running for three months
Music producer Phil Spector was too far away from Lana Clarkson to have shot her in the mouth, his trial has heard.
Forensic expert Stuart James told the murder trial that blood found on Mr Spector's jacket could have travelled six feet from where the actress died.
The defence team says Mr Spector could not have fired the fatal shot into Ms Clarkson's mouth from that distance.
But during cross-examination, Mr James conceded that Mr Spector could have been just two feet from the actress.
Ms Clarkson was found dead at Mr Spector's Hollywood mansion in February 2003. He denies murder, claiming she shot herself.
Her body was slumped in a chair in the foyer of the house. Police found the gun on the floor at her feet.
Mr James analysed bloodstains on the arm of the chair as well as on her black slip dress and Mr Spector's white coat.
But the scientist - who lectures around the world and has written a book on bloodstain pattern analysis - said he had never specifically studied gunshot wounds in the mouth.
"You see so few of them," he told the jury. "Intra-oral gunshot wounds are not that prevalent."
Mr Spector, who pioneered the "Wall of Sound" recording technique in the 1960s, faces between 15 years and life in prison if convicted.
BBC